The people's torture! Lin Mo's operation was very difficult.

With a slight spatial distortion, the scene before Lin Mo and the two others suddenly brightened.

They were now inside a vast, empty stone hall.

The hall’s style was extremely ancient, with bare walls, save for a ten-zhang-tall golden giant standing in the center.

It wore ancient armor, wielded a giant axe the size of a door panel, and its eyes were tightly shut, like a lifeless statue.

However, a terrifying pressure continuously emanated from it, so heavy that the air seemed to solidify.

This thing was actually a Nascent Soul-level Puppet guard!

"Your Highness, this aura... seems even stronger than Heaven-Supporting King's!"

Upon seeing this guard, Liu Fang's face had already turned as white as paper.

She was trembling all over, almost unable to stand steady.

For her, a Golden Core Immortal Master, this pressure was like Mount Tai pressing down, making even breathing incredibly difficult.

Ji Lingxue's situation was equally grim; she desperately circulated her spiritual power to resist, but the pressure still made her delicate body tremble slightly.

She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and said gravely, "Don't worry, I'll weaken it."

Her gaze turned to a small door not far from the guard, which emitted a soft white light and seemed out of place with the ancient style of the stone hall.

"That is a trial specifically prepared for the royal Bloodline, called 'The Interrogation of the Myriad People'."

"As long as I can pass, this guard's strength will be suppressed, directly dropping to the Golden Core Realm."

Ji Lingxue turned to explain to Lin Mo, who was clearly confused.

"So it's a debuff mechanism," Lin Mo thought, and then assessed the big guy's strength.

Hmm... probably around the third or fourth stage of Nascent Soul; it looked stronger than Ji Lingxue's royal uncle, Ji Wuya, but only marginally so.

For him, it would be a one-punch affair at most.

So he spoke indifferently:

"There's no need for such trouble; I'll just deal with it directly."

Hearing this, Ji Lingxue was first startled, then shook her head with a bitter smile.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, you must not be careless."

"This guard is an artifact left by that Imperial Dynasty; it's indestructible, and its combat power is far stronger than ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivators of the same rank. Forcing our way through is definitely not the best strategy."

She paused, then added, "Let me try to weaken it; this is the safest method."

"If it really doesn't work, it won't be too late for you to act!"

She didn't want Lin Mo to take risks.

This mysterious and powerful Fellow Daoist Lin was her only hope now, and she couldn't let any accident befall him here.

And Lin Mo, seeing her persistent look of "I'm doing this for your own good," was too lazy to persuade her further.

Fine, fine, you're pretty, so you call the shots.

It's just going through the motions, I'll play along.

Anyway, it's not like he was short on time.

He shrugged indifferently, made a 'please' gesture towards the glowing door, and waited to watch the show.

Ji Lingxue didn't notice his slightly perfunctory attitude.

She adjusted her breathing; her previously flustered heart was now filled with resolute determination, as if burning her bridges.

This was her third attempt, and her last hope.

Success or failure, it all depended on this one move!

The next moment, Ji Lingxue resolutely stepped into the white light door.

"Your Highness will definitely succeed this time!"

Watching Ji Lingxue's disappearing back, Liu Fang nervously clenched her fists, her palms sweating, and began to frantically pray for her Your Highness in her heart.

She knew very well that the previous two failures had already caused considerable trauma to Your Highness's Divine Soul; if she failed again this time... the consequences would be unimaginable!

...Inside the light door, it was another world entirely.

Ji Lingxue found herself sitting on the royal throne of Lingyang City, wearing the magnificent palace attire of the Regent Princess.

Below, there were countless common people, densely packed, stretching as far as the eye could see.

However, their faces no longer held the awe and reverence of the past; instead, there was numbness, resentment, and endless despair.

The next moment, sharp, piercing questions, like thousands of steel needles, like demonic sounds pouring into her mind, exploded in her Sea of Consciousness!

"Ji Wuya is a wolf with ambitions, controlling the court; as the Regent Princess, why did you not eliminate him sooner?"

"The King entrusted the Dynasty to you before going into seclusion, yet you are so weak; how can you wield royal power?"

"The King's seclusion failed, and his Divine Soul was damaged, all because of your incompetence and inability to stabilize the country's fortune!"

"Our families are broken, we are displaced, all because of you, this Eldest Princess who is unworthy of her position!"

Each of these voices precisely struck the most painful and self-reproaching parts of her heart.

Ji Lingxue's delicate body trembled violently, her forcibly composed demeanor instantly turning ashen.

These were the Heart Demons that tormented her day and night.

She tried to steady her mind and began to explain, "No... it's not like that... I...!"

But her explanation was so pale and powerless that it was instantly drowned out by an even more surging, more venomous wave of sound.

"If not you, then who!"

"Useless!"

"The sinner of the Ancient Spirit Dynasty!"

"Get down from there!"

"Why not yield to the powerful Heaven-Supporting King? At least the Ancient Spirit Dynasty wouldn't be destroyed because of this!!"

Facing the cold accusations of the myriad people,

Ji Lingxue's inner world rapidly collapsed!

The image of her royal father lying on his sickbed, unconscious.

Ji Wuya's aggressive and arrogant face in the court.

The two-faced expressions of the entire court officials, feigning compliance... All the pressure, grievances, unwillingness, and self-reproach she had borne alone were infinitely magnified by the illusion at this moment, fiercely impacting her already fragile Divine Soul.

Her defenses began to crumble inch by inch.

"Pfft!"

Ji Lingxue could no longer hold on, and she spat out a mouthful of Heart Blood, her entire aura instantly weakening to the extreme.

All the brilliance in her beautiful eyes rapidly faded, eventually leaving only deathly silence and despair.

Just then, the entire illusionary space shook violently.

A cold, emotionless voice echoed throughout the space.

"Royal Bloodline descendant, three failed trials, triggering punishment."

"Guard's power, increased by one stage!"

Buzz!

As soon as the words fell, a massive force abruptly ejected Ji Lingxue from the light door, sending her crashing heavily onto the cold stone floor of the hall.

A trace of blood overflowed from the corner of her mouth, and she slumped to the ground, disoriented, yet muttering to herself.

"Punishment... how can there be punishment...?"

"The records of previous ancestors never mentioned punishment for failure!"

"Why is this happening?"

However, she was given no time to think.

Boom!!!

In the center of the stone hall, the Puppet guard, which had been standing still, suddenly opened its eyes!

Two terrifying golden lights shot out, and a terrifying pressure, far exceeding before, erupted, sweeping across the entire hall!

Fourth-stage Nascent Soul!

Fifth-stage Nascent Soul!

Sixth-stage Nascent Soul!

Its strength had instantly climbed to the peak of the Middle Stage of Nascent Soul!

Ji Lingxue looked up at the golden giant radiating destructive aura, and the last glimmer of light in her eyes completely faded.

It's over.

Everything is over.

Not only did she fail to weaken the guard, but her failure had made it even stronger.

It was she who had personally sealed her own fate and cut off the last glimmer of hope for the Ancient Spirit Dynasty.

Endless despair and self-reproach instantly swallowed her completely... She could no longer find any hope...

And Lin Mo, standing by, having witnessed this epic "teammate failure" operation, was a bit speechless.

Good heavens.

My Eldest Princess Your Highness... you said you'd weaken it, but how did you manage to upgrade it in reverse?

Could it be that you applied the buff to the opponent?

That's quite an achievement!